Rapid actinide-separation methods
- Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Aiken, SC (United States)
New high-speed actinide-separation methods have been developed by the Savannah River Site Central Laboratory that can be applied to nuclear materials process samples, waste solutions and environmental samples. As part of a reengineering effort to improve efficiencies and reduce operating costs, solvent extraction methods (TTA, Hexone, TBP and TIOA) used for over thirty years in the SRS Central Laboratory were replaced with new rapid extraction column methods able to handle a variety of difficult sample matrices and actinide levels. Significant costs savings were realized and costly mixed-waste controls were avoided by using applied vacuum and 50-100 micron particle-size resins from Eichrom Industries. TEVA Resin{reg_sign}, UTEVA Resin{reg_sign}, and TRU Resin{reg_sign} columns are used with flow rates of approximately two to three milliliters per minute to minimize sample turnaround times. Single-column, dual-column and sequential-cartridge methods for plutonium, uranium, neptunium, americium and curium were developed that enable rapid, cost-effective separations prior to alpha-particle counting, thermal ionization and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and laser phosphorescence measurements.
- OSTI ID:
- 585144
- Journal Information:
- Radioactivity and Radiochemistry, Vol. 8, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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